Business Update

I meant to post this blog last week but it got saved instead... I also typed it from my iphone so I appologize for any errors!

I just had to share that yesterday was a big day for my husband's company (Summit Elevator Company). They officially are acknowledge by the state of Georgia as a legitimate company and are licensed to do business! This all happened without any problems. When his business partner took the test that was required for a mechanic's license he was told that he had scored the highest so far that day.

This was a huge step because up to this point there has been a hold on bidding jobs in Atlanta. Now things can move forward. Thank you all for your continued prayers. The favor of God is all over this new business and we give Him all the credit.


Next thing to pray for is a big job in Atlanta! There are already some things in the works. Just pray for open doors.... And closed ones too. Lucas still has no plans of being back in NYC anytime soon but they are still continuing to work a crew there. His partner is still spending the majority of his time there so pray for his wife and kids as well.

Thank You Jesus for your continued blessings on our life. We are very humbled.
Lori

Guessing Game

I have come to the age in Layla's life where among every other role I play in her life, I must also be a mind reader!! The past week and a half I have really noticed a frustration on my part and hers with our ability to communicate to each other. She knows without a doubt what she wants but her ability to communicate these things to me is not good enough. Up to this point her use of sign language has been very effective but now Layla is more specific in her wants! The sign "eat" doesn't work when she wants a bagel and not eggs. The sign more "music" is not good enough when she wants to listen to Johnny Lang and not Dave Matthews!

Now when she comes to me and it is not clear as to what she is wanting, I either take her hand or pick her up and walk to the areas of my house waiting for more clues. At least I can pull things out of the refrigerator or pantry and she can shake her head yes or no. After playing the guessing game all day I am exhausted. Can anyone else relate to this with children around this age? ? All I know to do is keep asking her to use her words and tell me what she wants. She has become very good at repeating words and trying to say a lot of things that I do. Hopefully in the next couple of months her ability to communicate will get better. I am not usually one to hurry a stage but this one is hard! She gets frustrated and so do we! The positive side I guess is that I have a daughter who knows what she wants, she just has to learn how to say it! :)

~LK

Lake Lanier

This past Sunday Natalie, Chris, Lucas, Layla, and I rented a boat for the day on Lake Lanier. We had such a great time and the weather was absolutely beautiful. It made me miss the days growing up and spending almost every weekend on the lake. We got the itch to buy a boat for sure...Maybe one of these days!

Layla did perfect! I was a little anxious about how she would do with the life jacket on all day but she never once fussed about it. We were even able to take it off and on without her complaining. She loved watching whoever was on the waverunners and would try to jump over board to get to them. She also loved watching her daddy when he was tubing behind the boat. She went all day with nothing but a 30 minute catnap. There was just too much excitement for her to sleep. The only mishap that we had is that she threw her plastic set of keys overboard, and although I could see them floating I did not think it was worth the trouble to turn around to get them. I am hoping for many days on the lake next summer. I had almost forgotten how much I loved it!
LK

Tantrums & Teething!

Other than being a short week, this week hasn't been much other than our ordinary schedule. We have had some beautiful weather so being outside has been a priority. Layla has been unusually fussy this week. She is trying to cut at least 2 teeth that I know of, one of them being a molar on her bottom right side. I am probably too conservative with the tylenol at times like this but the last couple of days I tried to be better. Teething for Layla means snot and coughing and we have had lots of that this week. There has also been a lot of tantrums. Where do kids learn how to do this?? She has begun to throw her self on the ground every time we tell her no! Even in the shopping cart at Target yesterday she reared her head back. Then she was really screaming because she hit it on the metal part of the cart. The only thing I know to do in these circumstances is to completely ignore them. Of course, the people in public think I am crazy when my kid is on the ground screaming and I won't even make eye contact with her. I have noticed that it is a lot less dramatic fit when no attention is given. I am sure this is just a stage and this too shall pass, right? After the teething pain and excessive tiredness from throwing herself down :), Layla has been extra cuddly. Lucas and I both have been soaking up these sweet moments. Here are a couple of pics from the week. Layla's hair has been really curly this week so there is a pic of it and I caught a pic of her after she fell asleep while dancing with daddy. Can't remember the last time she has fallen asleep on one of us, or when she will do it again.

We are off to the park to enjoy another beautiful afternoon! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Outside Dining in the ATL

One of the things that I love so far about Atlanta is the fact that almost every restaurant has an outdoor area to eat. We have eaten out quite a bit this weekend because my mom, sister-n-law and niece and nephew were in town. They stayed a half of a mile down the road with my sister because she has more room but we pretty much spent every waking minute together.

In the city there are a ton of places to eat outside which is perfect for this time of year. I would so much rather eat out when we can eat outside! We had lunch Saturday at Osteria in the Highlands (Italian). Layla actually got a little bit of sun...oops. The weather was so pretty I didn't even think about a sunburn. That would be mom slip up #1,392. We then had Sunday brunch at Wahoo Grill in Decatur and then after the "visitors" left, my sister and our families had a relaxing dinner outside in Oakhurst. (Mexican but can't remember the name). All these places we were able to dine "out". Layla loves it because everyone brings their dogs to dinner so she is constantly "barking" at them:).

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend. It is so nice to be home and enjoy family, beautiful weather, and football!

Pig Tails!!

Layla turned 15 months old this week!! Wow, all of a sudden that just sounds old to me! Although there really is not much difference between a 14 & 15 month old. Layla's vocabulary surprises us everyday. She picks up on everything and will say things out of the blue. She loves the animals and the noises they make. Her two favorite ones at the time are "goat" and "baboon". I also cannot make it through a store without her recognizing anything with Minnie Mouse. She says "Minnie". She has a stuffed animal Minnie that she sleeps with so when it is bedtime she walks through the house yelling for Minnie. It is very cute:) She also pointed to the computer today and attempted to say "music" since that is where we play all of her music from. Whenever she is playing she wants music on and cannot stand the break in between songs. She looks at me every time like "what happened??".

I have yet to blog about this because things can change any given week, but Lucas is home for atleast the month of September!! Thank you Jesus! He is trying to get work going here while his partner continues to work in NYC. Please continue to pray for his partner's family as they are making a sacrifice to be without a husband and dad much more than we are having too. Business is going fantastic. Lucas will tell you that nothing that has happened with the way things are going have been a surprise to him. He feels like that God has and will continue to keep his promise and be faithful to our family. So thankful to have his favor upon our lives. It makes me very humbled because we are the least deserving. We just took a step of obedience and faith and God has shown himself in a HUGE way. What are you believing God for today in your life? Maybe you need to step out so he can show off in your life in the way that he has ours.

Enjoy these pics of our little one. This was her first day with pig tails and I just had to share. I am KIND OF getting the itch for another...we have no maternity insurance right now so it won't be anytime soon. As I watch Layla it is just fun to imagine what at great BIG sister she will be one day!

No Paci=Less Whiny Baby!

I know the title doesn't seem to make sense, but it is the truth. Now that Layla is without paci she is 100% less whiny!! I can officially say that the paci is no longer a thought around our house. We are back to full 2-2.5 hour naps with no crying and 13 hours at night with no crying. I don't know if it was just coincidence that with Layla's paci gone she became less whiny. Maybe her getting older (almost 15 months) has more too do with it but she seems like such a big girl. Layla was always the kind of baby that wore her emotions on her sleeve when it came to being tired. As soon as she would start fussing, I would say now she's tired and put her too bed. Throughout this whole transition she has gone to one nap during the day which happens about 12:30. Most days she doesn't even act tired then but she goes down anyway, sometime after lunch. Honestly, if I would have known the transition was going to be this easy with such great results I would have done it a couple of months ago.

I say all the time that our first children are our test dummies and I believe that without a doubt. If only they knew how clueless we were!! Now maybe to potty training??!! Just kidding... we will wait a bit for that one:)